Commission approves move to raise official elderly age to 65

By The Nation

 

 

The National Elderly Commission has agreed to raise the official age of elderly people in Thailand from 60 to 65, Social Development and Human Security Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat said.

 

The elderly age is used by the government to determine eligibility for a monthly allowance.

 

Anantaporn said the commission agreed to amend Article 3 of the 2003 National Elderly Act to raise the elderly age.

 

Anantaporn said the commission also assigned a subcommittee to study possible impact and how to amend all laws concerned before an amendment bill will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30365476

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-03-09

Oh boy. More happiness. Retroactive for people already “old”?

Still ahead of the game, 66 for me, before I become eligible for the UK State Pension I mean. But I'm being ingenuous, got the local government pension at 60.

So, are they going to raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 too?  Or do they expect people to retire & then wait 5 years before they start collecting social security?

Yey, I'm young again! 

Called either running out of money or  funds appropriated for defence 

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The elderly age is used by the government to determine eligibility for a monthly allowance.

What on earth is the National Elderly Commission and the Human Security Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat thinking about by making decisions with political implications before an election which could affect the un/popularity of the Prime Minister in waiting? Heads could roll!

Upping the age before the elderly receive monthly is a certain vote loser and will be need quickly reversed or more likely deferred. Just like the unpopular vote losing Rice Bill. 

 

they won't be winning the grey vote, and there are lots of them.

Insane decision IMO, the elderly here get hardly nothing to live from already. Btw, my guess is that this also can have an effect on future regulations on retirement visas for foreigners!

2 hours ago, seahorse said:

Yey, I'm young again! 

And I'm still an old fart ????

But a hunsum one  

Edited March 9, 20197 yr by monkeycu

1 hour ago, Felt 35 said:

Insane decision IMO, the elderly here get hardly nothing to live from already. Btw, my guess is that this also can have an effect on future regulations on retirement visas for foreigners!

You think 60 is old? People can (in general) easily work until they are 65.

Will existing elderly be grandfathered into this new scheme?

NEWSFLASH: The age for a retirement visa will follow this.

 

They just redefined what elderly means. You’re next. 

3 hours ago, otherstuff1957 said:

So, are they going to raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 too?  Or do they expect people to retire & then wait 5 years before they start collecting social security?

Interesting question and I do hope they raise the mandatory retirement age to 65, so that I have a choice to work an additional 5 years. I'm 50 now, so I guess at the time I'm 60 they have changed this. 

What’s with the photo? They look north of 80.

Just now, lust said:

What’s with the photo? They look north of 80.

The camera adds 10 years.

Maybe not in a country with good healthcare and medicine which you were probably blessed to be born with and grew up with but for most people in this part of the world, 60 is about the end. But then you prob get a good pension to live on unlike most here who grew up living in a shack being malnourished most of their growing years. Enjoy your privileged life but dont tell others about their life when you have never walked in their shoes.

1 hour ago, vinniekintana said:

60 is not 'elderly' by any stretch..

 

1 hour ago, Felt 35 said:

Btw, my guess is that this also can have an effect on future regulations on retirement visas for foreigners!

I would wager a very large sum of money that this will eventually effect the age for a retirement visa.

 

This is a logical first step to that. If they can redefine age limits for their own people, foreigners don’t stand a chance of dodging that bullet.

 

After they weed out those who can’t afford the new financial requirements (happening now), then they will weed out the rest by mandatory health insurance and raising the age of retirement.

 

It will be a genius move to rid Thailand of an enormous number of foreigners. How many tens of thousands do you figure are between 55 - 65, and how many more elderly won’t be able to get insurance? This will be the death blow for retirees in Thailand WHEN it happens. 

Boy that will piss my wife off.  Maybe she will change her mind about voting for Prayut if they are about to stiff her out of her 500 THB / month she is looking forward to. 

6 hours ago, KMartinHandyman said:

Oh boy. More happiness. Retroactive for people already “old”?

I often here 45 is already too old to have a job , this will just kill

them. 

 

 

2 hours ago, vinniekintana said:

60 is not 'elderly' by any stretch..

It is in Thailand - for the majority! their generally unhealthy lifestyles don't add up to ageing well.

56 minutes ago, dcnx said:

This is a logical first step to that. If they can redefine age limits for their own people, foreigners don’t stand a chance of dodging that bullet.

Its 50 for a retirement visa now, what do you reckon, they will put up to 55 - Maybe?

4 minutes ago, CGW said:

Its 50 for a retirement visa now, what do you reckon, they will put up to 55 - Maybe?

Thanks for the correction, I meant to write 50. I bet they match it with this new age of 65.

 

It makes sense. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Felt 35 said:

Insane decision IMO, the elderly here get hardly nothing to live from already. Btw, my guess is that this also can have an effect on future regulations on retirement visas for foreigners!

It's probably to stop people getting into parks free, and remove the half price BTS/MRT tickets.

1 hour ago, Cheops said:

You think 60 is old? People can (in general) easily work until they are 65.

My wife is 48, she has been paying extra into the system for three years so that she will be eligible for an increased pension at 60. I wonder what will happen in her case?

11 minutes ago, dcnx said:

It makes sense. 

I would have to disagree, they are trying to "promote" high end tourism and retiree's, people with money "can" retire early, exactly the type they are looking for, 800k in the bank may go up though.

1 minute ago, CGW said:

I would have to disagree, they are trying to "promote" high end tourism and retiree's, people with money "can" retire early, exactly the type they are looking for, 800k in the bank may go up though.

If it goes over 5 million, I'm out of here!

3 hours ago, Felt 35 said:

Insane decision IMO, the elderly here get hardly nothing to live from already. Btw, my guess is that this also can have an effect on future regulations on retirement visas for foreigners!

Theoretically you are correct , in reality they do not pay any income taxes to be entitled to to anything all.

 

those who do pay taxes , highly unlikely to be in need of 500 baht or so per month in pension .

 

to be honest I do not see immigration changing retirement age for foreigners as foreigners are not recipients of any state benefits but they could increase required amount of money by 10-20% in line with inflation 

1 hour ago, CGW said:

I would have to disagree, they are trying to "promote" high end tourism and retiree's, people with money "can" retire early, exactly the type they are looking for, 800k in the bank may go up though.

Of course that price will go up. 

 

They want high end tourism and wealthy retirees, not just those who can meet the current low hurdle. 

 

Once the low hanging fruit is gone, there will be a new group of low hanging fruit. The rest will get sorted through visa changes over the next few years. It’s going to be curtains for many when mandatory insurance kicks in. 

1 hour ago, Longcut said:

If it goes over 5 million, I'm out of here!

That would be a jump, but it’s an easy move to ask for 1 - 1.5 million with little to no warning.

 

The thing is, you’re always on unstable ground here. What do you think the requirements will be in 10 years? How about 20? It’s not a problem TODAY, but what about when you’re 75 and in poor health, assuming you were even able to get insurance to stay in the first place.

 

Unless you’ve planned wisely, chances are most wont be able to hit whatever ridiculous requirements will be asked for then. Those retiring now will be in their 70s and possibly their 80s, good luck dealing with this nonsense at that age, especially with currency fluctuations, inflation, and whatever else unforeseen events happen.